The Legend of the 500

Lance is the most tested athlete, amateur or professional in the history of sport. We don’t know exactly the number but we think it’s around 300 separate tests that he’s undergone and he has never had a positive test.
Tim Herman, Lawyer to Lance Armstrong, July 2010

Throughout his twenty-plus year professional career, Mr. Armstrong has
been subjected to 500 to 600 drug tests without a single positive test
Civ. Action No. 1:12–cv–00606–SS July 2012

So just what is the total, how many times has he been tested? We will get onto that, but firstly, some details on just how these figures are calculated.

USADA
The United States Anti Doping Agency has been in effect since 2001, and all of their testing histories are freely available on their website. Between 2001 and 2011 Lance has been tested a total of 29 times by USADA, this figure including tests at races, out-of-competition tests, and bio-passport controls. Compare this to the likes of George Hincapie (38 times), Levi Leipheimer (40 times), and Kristen Armstrong (66 times) over the period that Lance was active.

AFLD/WADA
As representatives of WADA, any tests conducted by the AFLD (French anti-doping authorities) are also recorded, giving us the total number of tests from the ASO races including the Tour de France, Critérium du Dauphiné (Formerly Le Dauphiné Libéré), and other races. There is some discrepancy. L’Equipe reported in 2005 that Armstrong had been subjected to 63 UCI tests up to and including 2004. For the purposes of this diagram, and in a way that actually favours Lance, we are using a figure higher than this total of 63.

1990-1998
Very little information exists for this period, but what we do know is that very few (to be read as no) out-of-competition testings were conducted during this period. Race winners were, on occasion, tested and on even rarer occasions other podium placings were subject to anti doping tests, along with occasional spot checks at the Olympic Games. For the purposes of this diagram we have credited Lance with an anti-doping test for every single race win and podium over this period, despite evidence that this was not the case. It is acknowledged that the US Based lab of Don Catlin conducted around 2 dozen tests on Armstrong over this period.

I have been tested over 500 times and not once tested positive
Lance Armstrong 2011

Alleged Positives

In 2005 L’Equipe reported that Lance Amstrong’s tests from the 1999 Tour were retroactively tested and that 6 samples from the ’99 Tour tested positive for EPO

In 2011 it was reported that in 2009 US Cycling requested reports on tests conducted on Armstrong between ’93 and ’96. Five of these tests could not be recovered, but three showed abnormally-high levels of testosterone. Sports Illustrated reported “a 9.0-to-1 ratio from a sample collected on June 23, 1993; a 7.6-to-1 from July 7, 1994; and a 6.5-to-1 from June 4, 1996. Most people have a ratio of 1-to-1. Prior to 2005, any ratio above 6.0-to-1 was considered abnormally high and evidence of doping; in 2005 that ratio was lowered to 4.0-to-1.”

Lance tested positive for Cortisone during the ’99 Tour, however a backdated TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) notice was provided.

So on to the testing figures, just how many times has Lance Armstrong been tested over a 20 year career?

Lance Armstrong Testing History 1990-2010

Two Hundred and Thirty Six Times? That’s a long way from five hundred. And it must be noted that this is a highly-exaggerated figure. Not all wins prior to ’99 would have resulted in tests, many of the Bio-Passport controls were not tested for EPO or other PEDs and were used purely as blood markers. One can only ask, what of the other 250 tests?

Notes on the chart:

*49 victories and podiums between 1992 and 1999. Not all of these race had testing and the actual number of tests will be far lower

*** Bio Passport tests are made up of a mixture of Urine and Blood tests. Not all of the samples are tested for EPO, etc., and many of the tests are used purely for markers and not for testing for PEDs. Of his 27 tests in ’08-’09, 11 were not tested for EPO

# Any figures listed as “other” indicate that tests may have been performed but this will not be the case for all, so for the purposes of this chart it has been recorded as such; thus for all intents and purposes the figures on this chart will be higher than the actual tests performed.

## L’equipe claim that Armstrong was subjected to 63 UCI tests between 1999 and 2004. If that was the case it would reduce the total number of tests for Armstrong by 42

Author’s Comment
This will never be an exact science, the nature of the history means that nothing can ever be categorically claimed as 100% factual. The information on this chart was put together by a number of people who have a vast knowledge of the history going back 20 years. There will always be margin for error, a test here, a couple of tests there, it may be claimed that one year was 24 tests rather than 22. The margin for error, however, is small, and it should be noted that it is not, and never will be an error of 250 or more.

Credits: With huge thanks to @TheRaceRadio and others for the information contained on this chart.

@cyclismedopage thanks cyclismedopage. On the whole I think your figures are very accurate. I do question the L’equipe report from 2005 as I dont think they included all the tests, and again, we have been very generous with the number of tests that were conducted prior to 1999.

The quote from Armstrong’s lawyer speaks of 600 tests from a 20+ year period. The period you look at is shorter than this (1992 -2010). Is it possible Armstrong was tested before and after the period you show tests for, therefore making the lawyer’s claim less of an exaggeration?

@geoffbumble The 20 year period quote from Armstrongs lawyers is very much an approximation. We could add in 2011 and 2012 to make it twenty years but it would only increase his number of tests by about 3 that he had since. The period up to 1998 as well is grossly overestimated. Many of the races Lance competed in an won in his early career didnt have testing, and we have also gone as far as crediting him with a test for every single podium, and the chances of those podium places being tested in early 1990’s is absolutely zero. None of the people I have spoken with have any idea where the 200-300 missing tests are, in fact, dissapointment was expressed that I was so generous with the numbers, the true figure is almost certainly below 200.

Geoff, the 20 year period quote from Armstrongs lawyers is very much an approximation. We could add in 2011 and 2012 to make it twenty years but it would only increase his number of tests by about 3 that he had since. The period up to 1998 as well is grossly overestimated. Many of the races Lance competed in an won in his early career didnt have testing, and we have also gone as far as crediting him with a test for every single podium, and the chances of those podium places being tested in early 1990’s is absolutely zero. None of the people I have spoken with have any idea where the 200-300 missing tests are, in fact, dissapointment was expressed that I was so generous with the numbers, the true figure is almost certainly below 200.

i suspect there is a significant amount of creative accounting at work on behalf of MrArmstrong…
…1 test counting as 2 or even multiples. . A test administered by (say) AFLD/WADA suddenly also becomes a UCI test (since they would be notified of the results (if any) … I’ll assume they are notified… please correct me if I’m wrong on that assumption…)… Certainly an easy way for LA’s people to create a vastly inflated number. Of course, I don’t want to dismiss my personal assumption, which is nearly everyone in his camp just lie(strong) …UCI included…

Not that these will account for the variance – but what about the aborted testing plan Caitin/ACE did post-comeback and did Damsgaard have a team testing protocol too that could account for more supposed tests?

@jonnyirock Catlin performed one test between September and February when he was finally dumped. The only internal figures we have for Damsgaard is that he performed “Two or three tests between December and February”. If he kept up that rate we could in theory add about another 12-20 tests to Armstrong record. Of course, we are starting to get details on which pre 99 races had testing and can zap a similar number of the recorded total for that. Swings and Roundabouts.

Lance’s math has never been that great. A few years ago he claimed to be “fightin fer 28 million cancer survivors”. With an annual budget of $35million and half that budget wasted on Lance flying friends and family in his private jet to do ‘fun – d – raisers ‘ then those 28 million benefit the equivalent of a new DopeSTRONG silicon wrist bracelet every year. That’s taken the fight to em boy.

Just an update on this that i forgot to record at the time, was USADA’s interesting little dig in Appendix A of one of their submissions
“Allegation 3. “Throughout his twenty-plus year professional career, Mr. Armstrong has been subjected to 500 to 600 tests without a single positive test.” Am. Compl. ¶

16 Correction USADA has requested that Armstrong’s counsel provide USADA the factual basis for this claim and Armstrong’s counsel has, to date, refused”

UCI Today said they had had 215 tests done on Armstrong http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/cycling-chief-considers-doping-amnesty-for-riders-officials-in-wake-of-armstrong-case/2012/09/07/1a30840e-f928-11e1-a93b-7185e3f88849_story_1.htmlAdd to that a handful of USADA tests (Less 14 that were done for the UCI, so net of 18) and you come out at 233.Its not clear if the AFLD tests would be seperate but its fairly certain these were done on behalf of the UCI as would have been all tests done by agencies other than USADA. Just leaves a handful of tests done in the nineties by Caitlin.. myth officially busted

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